Parish life is akin to any person's life, with experiences of joys and sorrows, challenges and successes. The life of St. Joseph's Basilica is no exception. Jan. 30 marked exactly 100 years since St. Joseph's Parish was founded; the 30th anniversary of elevation to a minor basilica also occurs this year.

Newman Theological College has established a new institute that aims to serve the new evangelization by developing and offering innovative programs in faith formation and catechesis. "The Benedict XVI Institute for New Evangelization is intended to meet the real needs of the Catholic Church in Canada today," college president Dr. Jason West said in announcing the initiative.

At the end of March, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) will hold what it calls a national event at Edmonton’s Shaw Conference Centre. It is important that you attend as much of the March 27 to 30 event as possible to hear some of the voices of aboriginal people who attended and suffered at Church-run residential schools that were a key part of the Church’s ministry in the West for roughly 100 years.

To us, it would seem a minor request. A young student at the Edmonton Indian Residential School, Kathleen Steinhauer, confronted with the same "cold, lumpy oatmeal" for breakfast that she had seen numerous times previously, raised her hand and asked, "Could I have some brown sugar?"

EDMONTON – Catholics who worked in Indian residential schools made "heroic sacrifices" to help aboriginal students and fought against native integration into provincial school systems, wrote an Oblate priest who received the Order of Canada for his contribution to native education.

The federal government is suing Catholic entities involved in the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement over $1.5 million in contested funds. "We had requested mediation," said Archbishop Gerard Pettipas of Grouard-McLennan, who chairs the board of the Corporation of Catholic Entities Party to the Indian Residential Schools Settlement.

ST. ALBERT – Whether from his fellow Oblates or the health care staff he worked alongside at the University of Alberta Hospital or the scuba diving community, Father André Vincelette will be remembered as an unselfish man with a gentle spirit and kind presence.

Cardinal Thomas Collins knows all about saving souls but with his appointment to the Vatican bank he'll be getting a crash course in savings of another kind. The Toronto archbishop was one of four cardinals appointed by Pope Francis on Jan. 15 to a commission to oversee the running of the oft-maligned Vatican bank. A theologian and academic by training, Collins said the appointment came "completely out of the blue."

OTTAWA – The Supreme Court of Canada has agreed to hear an assisted suicide and euthanasia case from British Columbia, the so-called Carter case. The court's decision to hear the case has alarmed disabled Canadians.

TORONTO – Canadians will get to experience the iconic Living With Christ missalette in a new way. Two major changes have been made to the English version of the missalette, with it now coming in a single size with a new look.